Army Prosecuting Authority:Attorney-General

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What actions they are taking to restore any loss of confidence in the Army Investigation and Prosecuting Authorities cited in connection with decisions to transfer cases of alleged military offences to the civil jurisdiction on the grounds of public concern; and
	What criteria are applied when the Attorney-General considers whether to intervene in cases of offences alleged against members of the Armed Forces; and
	Further to the statement by the Prime Minister on 16 November (Official Report, Commons, col. 965) that prosecutions of servicemen are the sole responsibility of the Army Prosecuting Authority, in what circumstances the Attorney-General is empowered to transfer cases from the military to the civil justice system; and
	What is the legal basis that provides the Attorney-General with powers to transfer cases from the Army Prosecuting Authority and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Lord Goldsmith: I have ministerial superintendence of both the Crown Prosecution Service and the three Service Prosecuting Authorities. In the case of the CPS, the role is statutory; in the case of the Service Prosecuting Authorities, it is non-statutory.
	I have confidence that the service investigators, prosecutors and military courts deliver independent and impartial justice. Where an offence alleged to have been committed by a serviceman overseas is triable in either the court martial or the civilian courts here, it is ultimately for me to decide, as part of my constitutional and superintendence roles, whether the case should be dealt with in the military or the civilian system. Only exceptionally will such a case be dealt with in the civilian system. This may be because it is no longer possible to use the court martial jurisdiction or because the particular circumstances of a case indicate that the civilian courts are best placed to deal with it.

Army Prosecuting Authority:Attorney-General

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether there is a potential conflict of interest between the ministerial responsibility of the Attorney-General for the Army Prosecuting Authority and the Crown Prosecution Service and his duties as principal legal adviser to all the departments of government.

Lord Goldsmith: No such conflict has arisen as far as I am aware.

Avian Flu: Insurance

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has given guidance to poultry farmers on insurance against avian flu in terms of both infection of flocks and loss of trade due to restrictions imposed by the Government as a biosecurity measure.

Lord Bach: Defra has not issued such guidance. The risks for which the industry can insure and whether individual companies choose to do so are commercial decisions for the respective parties.

Bathside Bay, Harwich

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they will give their decision on the go-ahead or otherwise of the proposed port development at Bathside Bay, Harwich.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The report of the public inquiry into the proposed Bathside Bay container terminal development is under careful consideration, and an announcement will be made as soon as possible.

Belfast Education and Library Board

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 2 November (WA 18) concerning the perceived community backgrounds of the Belfast Education and Library Board, whether they will take steps to ensure equal numbers of Roman Catholics and Protestants on the board.

Lord Rooker: Appointments to all the education and library boards are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland, and the members appointed in July 2005 were selected in accordance with legislative requirements and the code of practice laid down by the commissioner. The code of practice makes clear that appointments must be made on merit. To appoint on the basis of community background would have been unlawful.

Belfast Ulster-Scots Festival

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	On what date in November the Northern Ireland Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure received an application for funding for the annual Belfast Ulster-Scots Festival; when the funding was agreed; and when it was paid.

Lord Rooker: On 27 September 2005 the department received an application for funding from the chair of the Belfast Ulster-Scots Festival Organising Committee. This was forwarded to the Ulster-Scots Agency for consideration. The board of the agency agreed on 4 November 2005 to make an additional payment of £7,000 to the festival organising committee, to supplement its original offer of grant assistance for £4,990 made on 18 October 2005. Payment of this latter amount was made by the agency on 2 November 2005. Payment in respect of the additional amount was made by the agency on 28 November 2005.

Chinese Students

Lord Chan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why university undergraduates and postgraduates from China are required to report to police stations on arrival in England and Wales even though they have obtained their entry visas at the British Embassy in China.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The requirement to register with the police once they have arrived in the United Kingdom is a condition of the entry clearance issued by the British Embassy. Chinese nationals are "relevant foreign nationals" for the purposes of Part 10 of the Immigration Rules. These state that a "relevant foreign national" aged 16 or over who is given limited leave to enter the United Kingdom for longer than six months should normally be required to register with the police unless he is given leave in one of the categories listed in paragraph 326(2) of the rules. Students are not one of the exempt categories. This is not a new requirement, nor is it confined to Chinese nationals.

Egypt: Copts

Lord Patten: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they last made representations to the Government of Egypt concerning the treatment and religious freedoms of the Copts; and what was the nature of those representations.

Lord Triesman: The Government last made official representations about religious freedom issues in May 2005, when the British Embassy in Cairo made working-level representations to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the case of Nevine Marcos, a Coptic Christian who had allegedly been kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam.

Fire Engines

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Andrews on 28 November (WA 6) concerning the colour of fire engines, whether they will carry out an investigation into the most visible colour for fire appliances; and, if not, whether red is the most visible colour at night.

Baroness Andrews: FiReBuy Ltd has been given responsibility by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the national procurement of all fire vehicles for English fire and rescue services. It is proposing over the next two years to fund a research project to determine the optimum colours, conspicuity, visual and audible options for fire vehicles.

Information Security: Department for Transport

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which Minister has responsibility for information security in the Department for Transport.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Responsibility for information security in the Department for Transport rests with the appropriate Minister for each of its business areas enabled by IT.

Internet and Telephone Access

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps they are taking to ensure that all families receiving the lowest statutory minimum incomes have some access to the Internet and to a land telephone line.

Baroness Andrews: The Government are committed to ensuring that the benefits of information communication technologies (ICTs), such as the Internet and telephone, reach every citizen. Recent government reports outline the Government's strategy to improve access and use of ICTs: the Digital Strategy and Transformational Government. The Social Exclusion Unit's Inclusion Through Innovation report further champions the benefits and role of ICT in tackling social exclusion.
	The Government have already taken steps to put in place an extensive network of public Internet access points. There are now over 6,000 online centres throughout the UK, 2,000 of which are located within the most deprived wards.
	Ensuring that basic telecommunications services remain within everyone's reach, regardless of circumstance, is a key priority and is implemented by Ofcom through universal service obligations (USOs). USOs make sure that basic fixed telephone line services are available at an affordable price to all citizens in the UK—including special tariff schemes for low-income customers, reasonable geographic access to public call boxes and services for customers with disabilities.

Israel: Settlement Building

Baroness Tonge: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they have made to the Israeli Government following the announcement by the Israel Housing Ministry of its plan to build 350 additional housing units in the Ma'ale Adumim settlement east of Jerusalem in occupied territory.

Lord Triesman: We are greatly concerned by Israeli settlement building, particularly around east Jerusalem. We continue to raise the issue of settlement activity with the Israeli Government. Phase one of the quartet road map calls on Israel to freeze all settlement expansion, including "natural growth", and to dismantle settlement outposts erected since March 2001. We continue to urge Israel to meet its road map commitments. We have stressed repeatedly that the building of settlements on occupied land is contrary to international law. My right honourable friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State (Dr Kim Howells) raised with Israeli Housing Minister Herzog our concerns about reports of Israeli intentions to construct additional dwellings in Ma'ale Adumim, during his recent visit to Israel and Palestine.

Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002: Section 4

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many persons have been deprived of their citizenship under the provisions of Section 4 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Notice of a decision to make a deprivation order has been given in one case.

Northern Ireland Civil Service

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why the number of people employed by the Northern Ireland Civil Service has grown by almost 15 per cent since 1 April 2001.

Lord Rooker: The net staff in post for the Northern Ireland Civil Service have increased by 11.7 per cent between 1 April 2001 and 1 September 2005 rather than the percentage stated in the Question.
	This figure relates to staff in post, calculated on a headcount basis, in the 11 ministerial departments and NIO (including their agencies). The NIO figure excludes those in the PSNI, uniformed prison service staff and the non-administrative staff employed in the Youth Justice Agency. Staff on career break have also been excluded.
	The level of growth varies from department to department but the main reasons for the overall growth are:
	introduction and development of new government programmes and policies;
	increased workload or expansion of demand-led services;
	reform initiatives;
	implementing legislation and EC directives; and
	post-devolution activities and restructuring of departments.

Northern Ireland Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the threshold above which economists give approval to business cases in the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland.

Lord Rooker: There is no threshold.

Northern Ireland: Boarding Schools

Lord Kilclooney: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many pupils are boarding at each of the boarding schools in Northern Ireland.

Lord Rooker: The requested information is as follows.
	
		Grant-aided Schools
		
			  Preparatory Department Secondary Department 
			 Grammar Schools  
			 Campbell College 1 60 
			 Methodist College 8 135 
			 Royal School, Armagh 1 96 
			 Royal School, Dungannon Not applicable 44 
			 St Colman's College Not applicable 44 
			 Victoria College 2 42 
		
	
	
		
			  
			 Special Schools   
			 Fleming Fulton 4  
			 Jordanstown 5  
		
	
	
		
			  
			 Independent Schools   
			 Glencraig Curative School 24  
			 Rockport 15

Northern Ireland: Cross-border Bodies

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, in the development of the policy of care and maintenance by the cross-border implementation bodies, those bodies are constrained by policy matters or by funding.

Lord Rooker: The North/South implementation bodies operate under the North/South Co-operation (Implementation Bodies)(NI) Order 1999, and their business plans and budgets are set in that overall context.

Northern Ireland: Funding for Nationalist and Unionist Festivals

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker of 10 October (WA 60) concerning funding for festivals, from what fund the two applications for funding for 12 July were made by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure.

Lord Rooker: The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure met the two applications for funding for 12 July from its cultural policy allocation.

Northern Ireland: Proposed Education Authority

Lord Kilclooney: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What will be the basis of membership of the proposed Education Authority in Northern Ireland.

Lord Rooker: The governance arrangements have not yet been finalised. It is envisaged that membership will comprise those with expertise and experience across a wide range of areas relevant to the planning and delivery of educational services. Members will be appointed in accordance with the principles of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Northern Ireland: Railways

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 2 November (WA 34), why there are no plans to run direct trains from Londonderry to Dublin; and whether they will conduct a feasibility study and a consultation exercise on this matter.

Lord Rooker: Although there are no direct daily routes between Londonderry and Dublin, seven of the nine services between Londonderry and Belfast connect with the Enterprise service to Dublin. On the return journey seven of the eight Enterprise services connect with the Belfast to Londonderry service. These arrangements apply from Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, there are two connecting services from Londonderry to Dublin and three between Dublin and Londonderry.
	The outcome of the consultation on the Railways Review Group report in 2004 allocated funding of £17.2 million over a five-year period for the lesser used parts of the NIR network, which include the line north of Ballymena to Londonderry. As connecting services already exist between Dublin and Londonderry, and as funding for the lesser used lines is limited, there are no plans to run direct routes between Dublin and Londonderry and there are no plans at this stage to commission a feasibility study or consultation exercise on the issue.

Northern Ireland: Tyrone County Hospital

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will delay decisions about Tyrone County Hospital, Omagh, so as to take account of the proposed changes to public administration in Northern Ireland.

Lord Rooker: It is not envisaged that the recently announced changes to public administration in Northern Ireland will have any impact on decisions about services at Tyrone County Hospital in Omagh.
	On 19 September the Health Minister, Shaun Woodward, placed in the public domain three reports that highlighted the urgent need for changes to hospital services in the Sperrin Lakeland area. On 11 October the Minister issued for consultation his proposals to address the safety and sustainability issues identified in the reports.
	The consultation period finished on 25 November and the Minister's decision on the way forward is expected shortly. It would not be acceptable to compromise patient safety by delaying the necessary changes.

Northern Ireland: Unemployment

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What has been the level of unemployment in the Strabane District Council area on 1 September for each of the past five years.

Lord Rooker: Unemployment levels from the claimant count in the Strabane District Council area at September 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 are provided in the table below.
	
		
			  Unemployment level 
			 September 2001 1,429 
			 September 2002 1,299 
			 September 2003 1,244 
			 September 2004 1,218 
			 September 2005 1,190

Northern Ireland-Scotland Links

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What proposals they have to create business, cultural and tourist links between Scotland and Northern Ireland similar to those created between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Lord Rooker: There are already links, such as those within the British-Irish Council, between Northern Ireland departments and their Scottish counterparts both to address specific issues, as the need arises, and to share best practice across a broad range of business, cultural and tourism areas.

Philippines: Death Penalty

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they are making during their presidency of the European Union to the Government of the Philippines concerning a pardon for Francisco Juan (Paco) Larranaga, a citizen of Spain, who has been sentenced to death in the Philippines, following previous interventions during the Dutch presidency and of successive presidents of the European Parliament.

Lord Triesman: Under our presidency of the EU, this case has been discussed regularly by EU missions in Manila.
	With UK presidency support, the Spanish Embassy in Manila has raised this case with the Philippines' Government. We have raised the broader issue of the death penalty in the Philippines at senior level with the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, as well as with the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Teacher Exchanges

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they plan to hold meetings between the departments of education in the United Kingdom, France and Germany on the arrangements for expanding teacher exchanges at primary and secondary level in 2006.

Lord Adonis: A meeting with the French Education Ministry is expected to take place before the end of this year to build on existing agreements for bilateral education co-operation, including teacher exchanges. We have strong links with Germany through its embassy and our partnership with the British Council, through which we fund a range of teacher exchange and linking activity. The EU education programme Socrates also supports teacher interaction, including visits, between 31 European countries, including the UK, France and Germany. Through these and other programmes and resources that we fund directly, we expect to see continued and expanding opportunities for teacher exchanges and visits between our three countries.

Waterways Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What were the conclusions of the PSM consultants on customer services training in Waterways Ireland; what action they propose to take as a result of these conclusions; and whether they will place a copy of the consultants' report in the Library of the House.

Lord Rooker: This is an ongoing internal matter for Waterways Ireland and no conclusions have yet been reached.

Waterways Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 17 November (WA 174) concerning the presentation of chocolates to all Waterways Ireland staff by the chief executive, who approved this expenditure; when was such approval given; and by what procedure.

Lord Rooker: This expenditure was approved by the senior management group of Waterways Ireland in December 2002.

Waterways Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	With which departments the specification for the post of director of marketing and communications for Waterways Ireland was agreed; when such agreement was reached; and what was the agreed specification.

Lord Rooker: I refer the noble Lord to my Answers of 14 June 2005 (WA 117) and 30 June 2005 (WA 51–52). The creation of the post of director of marketing and communications at Waterways Ireland was agreed by the North/South Ministerial Council on 27 June 2001.